Preferred Long Term Katherine Heavy Vehicle Alternate Route

The Northern Territory Government is planning for the future development of Katherine, particularly for heavy vehicle movements.

A planning study undertaken by Aurecon Group is expected to be finalised in mid-2017, which documents the preferred option for a longer term Katherine Heavy Vehicle Alternate Route.

This project is a 20-plus year initiative that aims to eventually:

identify an alternate heavy vehicle route corridor that can be preserved for the future, and developed in stages when the need arises

provide a second high level crossing over Katherine River

complement the outcomes of the Katherine Flood Mitigation Report and the Transport Business Hub.

A key aim of this long-term project is to provide an alternate route for heavy vehicles that does not restrict visitor and tourist growth and spending in the town centre.

This planning study is an Australian Government initiative funded under the Infrastructure Investment Programme.

Community Consultation

In July 2015, the Department of Infrastructure Planning and Logistics started consultation on a proposed heavy vehicle alternative route. Three rounds of community consultation took place, with the final round closing on 3 March 2017. Community feedback along with technical assessments helped identify
the preferred option which was announced for the final round of public comment in December 2016.

The three rounds of consultation which occurred over the duration of this project were:

Round 1 consultation was held for six weeks over July-August 2015 seeking community feedback on the need for a heavy vehicle alternate route and possible routes for the road to follow.

Round 2 consultation was held for six weeks over October-November 2015 and sought feedback on three potential route options.

Round 3 consultation was held for eleven weeks over December 2016 - March 2017, displaying the preferred route for public information.

Throughout the duration of the project, community members were invited to:

Make a written/online submission

Visit one of the 12 community drop-in sessions

Review the public exhibition at the Katherine Library

Meet with the project team to provide input or find out more information.

Consultation with directly affected land owners regarding the preferred route is still underway.

What happens next?

The Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics will now make an application to the Northern Territory Planning Commission, to embed this route in the Katherine Land Use Plan.